Wayfield Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel cared for by the adults at school. All pupils feel treated equally and have someone that they trust to talk to. The school makes sure that pupils with any disadvantage are looked after.

Pupils rush into the school in the morning and punctuality has greatly improved.

Pupils aspire to do their best. Their aspiration reflects the school's expectations and values.

However, these aspirations are not realised. Older pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The school has an inconsistent approach to help them to do their best.

However, the youngest pupils have enthusiasm and a love of learning. They are focused on doing their best and achiev...e well with the help of the adults around them.

Pupils know the school rules and understand right and wrong.

Some pupils do not routinely treat each other with respect. Some pupils do sometimes have worries about bullying. The school now acts swiftly and effectively to address these concerns.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Pupils make a positive start at the school in Nursery and the Reception Year. The school has a clear curriculum for what children will learn and when. This includes how children will behave towards each other and communicate.

Staff have been well trained. They use key vocabulary consistently, and this supports children to understand and learn more effectively. Children show an enthusiasm for reading and mathematics in lessons and through their play.

They are able to work together collaboratively to solve problems. Throughout the whole school, pupils who need extra support are swiftly identified. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported.

The school has a coherent approach for teaching pupils to read. This includes checking carefully what sounds they know and can use. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know.

They enjoy a wide range of stories. Not all staff follow these plans as thoroughly as they should. This leads to inconsistencies between classes.

As a result, not all pupils learn to read as well as they could. The school helps pupils to catch up with their peers, but this work has not yet been fully effective. As a result, not enough pupils are fluent and accurate readers by the end of Year 6.

The curriculum matches the full breadth of the national curriculum. In some subjects, the school's chosen content is taught with fidelity and care. However, in other subjects, staff do not follow the curriculum closely or choose activities to support pupils well enough.

Staff checks of what pupils know and can do are thorough sometimes, but not consistent. Pupils' misconceptions are not addressed swiftly enough. This means that pupils' achievement is variable, including those with SEND.

Pupils' attainment at the end of Year 6 is significantly below the nationally published average.

There is tangible improvement in the attendance of some pupils, including those with SEND. The school makes effective use of information to understand the causes of absence.

Some of the school's initiatives to improve this are relatively recent and are not yet having a wider impact, and some disadvantaged pupils do not yet attend school often enough. Pupils' attitudes to learning and each other are typically positive, but there is some variability. Generally, staff promote positive behaviour, but this is not yet consistent.

Consequently, pupils' behaviour in lessons is mixed. This occasionally leads to learning being disrupted. The school is taking effective action to address this.

The school prioritises pupils' personal development, but there are gaps in what pupils know about their place in modern Britain. Pupils have a clear understanding of right and wrong. There is a coherent approach to teaching relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education.

This helps pupils to understand ideas such as positive relationships. The school has a comprehensive curriculum for personal, social and health education (PSHE). However, at times, pupils are confused about some fundamental British values and other important issues.

As a result, pupils' ability to act as informed modern citizens is inconsistent.

Leaders at all levels are committed to developing the school. Governors and trustees have previously not been sufficiently robust in their challenge and support for the school.

Staff are dedicated to supporting the work of the school and feel that their workload has been well managed. However, the school has not assured itself of the effectiveness of actions taken to improve the curriculum, including the impact on pupils' learning. More recently, actions to improve the curriculum, SEND provision and behaviour have been more sharply focused.

This is beginning to have a positive impact.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Over time, the school's work to evaluate the curriculum has lacked urgency.

More recently, this has strengthened but needs continued focus. This means that the school has not previously had an accurate view of the impact of its actions. The school should continue to identify the key actions to bring about the most important changes for pupils, and routinely evaluate the impact of its work.

• Pupils who are disadvantaged, including those with SEND, do not attend school often enough. This means they miss out on key learning and do not achieve as well as they should. The school must redouble its efforts to promote good attendance, so that all pupils are fully prepared for their next stages of education.

• Some pupils' attitudes to learning and each other are not consistently positive. As a result, some pupils do not always treat each other with kindness and respect. The school should model and promote a positive culture of mutual respect towards other people and learning.

The teaching of some curriculum content is inconsistent. This means that pupils do not achieve as well as they should, including those with SEND. The school must ensure that all staff benefit from high-quality training and support to teach all subjects across the curriculum effectively.